General armstrong custer biography

(1839-1876)

Who Was George Custer?

During the Civil War, George Custer commanded several different cavalry divisions and distinguished himself with his bravery in some of its most important battles.

In 1866 Custer joined the 7th Cavalry in Kansas, and on June 25, 1876, he led 210 men against Lakota and Cheyenne warriors at the Battle of Little Bighorn, where he and all of his men were killed.

Early Life and Education

George Armstrong Custer was born December 5, 1839, in New Rumley, Ohio.

One of five children, at a young age he was sent to live with an older half-sister and brother-in-law in Monroe, Michigan, and spent much of his youth bouncing between the two states. After high school, he attended the McNeely Normal School and worked odd jobs to help pay his way, eventually earning a teaching certificate.

But Custer had greater ambitions than being a grammar school teacher and soon set his sights on the military academy at West Point. While he lacked the qu